As hurricane-force winds in excess of 140 mph blew through Clark late in the evening on Nov. 15, 2021 — helping to spread a fire that killed a resident and torched homes, outbuildings, vehicles and everything else in its way — pink insulation could be seen scattered across the scene, part of the Park County communications building located in the neighborhood.

Michael Conners, chief information officer for Park County, was off that day but received a call from a Clark resident the next morning saying the “building has exploded.”

“There was nothing in there that could explode, but it looked like it did because of that wind,” he said.

Pete DeHaan, owner of DeHaan Electronics in Powell, also received a call early that morning and immediately headed to the scene to see what could be salvaged. The unoccupied building housed first responder communications devices as well as a PBS transmitter.

On the way to the scene he stopped at the lumber yard and bought a tarp, thinking the roof had blown off the building. What he found were pieces of expensive electronics and building materials spread across 10 acres. The tarp wasn’t going to help.

“There was nothing left [of the original building site] except for some cables sticking out of the ground used to hold the building down,” he said.

DeHaan was able to quickly reconstruct the electronics, hook up the electricity and encase the parts in a temporary vault, reconnecting critical emergency response capabilities in the area within a few days, he said. But it was a temporary fix in need of a permanent home.

Last week several Park County departments and a Powell communications expert finished replacing the new structure and equipment, this time with a “bullet-proof” building capable of withstanding the infamous severe weather common in the community, said Trever Kattenhorn, county Buildings and Grounds Department superintendent.

The new building is a much stronger structure, like a CONEX or military Tri-con shipping container, and anchored in the ground by four large concrete jersey rails, which are typically used by the Wyoming Department of Transportation to divide highways in construction zones.

“We upgraded it to a building that'll be impervious to weather. Nothing can really get in that building. It’s bullet-proof,” Kattenhorn said.

Conners said the county was frugal in replacing the facility, opting for an 8-foot-long structure. The work was a collaboration between Park County departments, including Road and Bridge, Information Technology and Buildings and Grounds, as well as DeHaan.

“It was definitely a lot cheaper than us going out there and building something,” Conners said.

Insurance will pay for a portion of the replacement facility and equipment, of which they had some spare parts. The bills are still coming in and the total cost to the county won’t be known until all the paperwork is done and insurance makes a payout.

“The facility is crucial for [first responders]. Especially doing work up Line Creek,” Conners said. “It will outlive any of us.”